Three Students Elected to Represent Division in ABA House of Delegates

Vol. 40No. 3

By
Ambika Sahni

Ambika Sahni is a 3L at Villanova University School of Law.

At the ABA Annual Meeting in August, Matthew Dorothy, Shahin Gozarkhah, and Cleveland M. Patterson, III, were elected to represent the Law Student Division as delegates to the ABA House of Delegates.

As the Division Delegates, Dorothy, Gozarkhah, and Patterson are tasked with maintaining the lines of communication between senior ABA entities and the Law Student Division. The delegates also exercise the Division’s voting powers at the House of Delegates when it is in session. The House of Delegates is the policymaking body of the ABA.

The new delegates come from different backgrounds. Dorothy was born and raised in South Dakota and has a background in tax accounting, small business, consulting, and management. In addition to his status as a 3L at the University of South Dakota School of Law, Dorothy is also in an MBA program and has a daughter.

“Savannah and I are both in the third grade,” Dorothy says. “She reminds me of that often, but she is by far the mature one.”

Dorothy says his primary goals during his term as a delegate are simplicity and transparency.

“If there is an issue at the national ABA level that may impact students, they should have access to a simple explanation of that issue so they can look further into the issue and attempt to effect change if they so desire,” he says.

Gozarkhah, a 3L at Georgetown University Law Center, says he hopes to increase student involvement. Gozarkhah says he expects to use his term to promote proposals that are especially important to today’s law students.

“I hope to push initiatives that effect law students such as new Loan Repayment Assistance Programs,” Gozarkhah explains.

Patterson, a 3L at Southern University Law Center, was an award-winning offensive lineman in college, but also coached high school football for four years.

“I would like to hear members of the Law Student Division voice their current concerns and use their input to make the Law Student Division the best it has ever been,” Patterson says.